Both the building and its interior are examples of sepulchral art of high artistic quality.

History

The Catholic cemetery at Cmentarna Street was established in 1830. It forms one necropolis complex together with the Orthodox and Evangelical cemeteries. The cemetery was used until 1850, when it was decided that no more burials would be held in church cemeteries in the centre of the city.

The Jüttner family chapel was built in 1897 by the stonemasonry of Józef Norblin from Warsaw. It honours the memory of August and Katarzyna Jüttner and was funded by their son, priest Jüttner.

Description

The cemetery was established in the northern part of the city, to the west of Cmentarna Street, to the north of the Strawa River, in a slightly elevated area. It is located centrally between the Orthodox and Evangelical necropolises. The cemetery follows a plan of an irregular rectangle – with a separate L-shaped part in the south, where the Orthodox cemetery is situated. The side facing Cmentarna Street is enclosed with a high, solid brick wall. A three-part gate with a central, two-winged gateway flanked by wickets leads to the cemetery from Cmentarna Street. The gate is positioned on the axis of the main alley. The Jüttner Chapel is situated in the north-eastern part of the cemetery, about 20 metres north of the main alley.

The chapel represents the Eclectic style.

It follows a plan of a rectangle, with an entrance on the shorter side, preceded by a rectangular platform from the east. The compact body of the chapel is covered with a gable roof. The pediments have gable roofs too. The chapel has a single-space interior.

The foundations of the chapel were built from solid ceramic bricks laid with lime mortar. The walls are made of sandstone brick, on a stone base. Plastered on both sides.

Above the chapel, there is a barrel vault from solid ceramic bricks.

Inside, there is a marble floor. It consists of plates in two different colours, arranged in a geometric pattern. The roof has sheet metal cladding.

The one-flight, three-step stairs are made from bricks laid with lime mortar, with sandstone threads.

There are single, stained-glass windows in metal frames, divided into six sections by metal muntins.

The metal door is double-wing and decorated with a floral ornament. There are two decorative panels on each wing. The upper one is glazed and barred. In the lower ones, there is a central rosette surrounded by a floral ornament. Over the door, there is a glazed fanlight with a grate.

The chapel was erected on a two-step berm and a high, two-part plinth. At the height of 1/3 of the plinth, there is a quarter-round string course. The plinth is topped with a profiled cornice.

The eastern elevation is preceded by a stone platform. The platform is surrounded by a low fence, made of double horizontal bars placed between angular corner posts. The wall is single-storey and one-axial. The central door opening is topped with a full arch, enclosed by a profiled frame. It consists of two parts. Under the arch, there is a fanlight, separated from the rectangular opening of the door by a transom bar. The wall corners are flanked by quarter columns, on profiled bases, with fluted stems and Corinthian capitals. Over them, there are block imposts. Further above, there is a triangular pediment contoured with a profiled frame, with a broken entablature. At the top of the pediment, there is a monstrance on a pedestal. The tympanum contains a cartouche with a coat of arms, resting on the arch of the doorway, enclosed with a wreath of oak leaves. Under the cartouche, in the archivolt, there are intertwined grapevines and acanthus leaves. Inside the tympanum, there is an inscription in antiqua with serifs that reads: IN MEMORY OF AUGUST AND KATARZYNA JÜTTNER 1897”. On the northern plinth, the signature of the stonemason: “J. NORBLIN. WARSAW. No. 71 DZIKA STREET.”

The southern elevation is one-storey and one-axial. The eastern corner is adorned with a quarter-column. The western corner is embellished with a Corinthian pilaster. In the centre, there is a pseudo-avant-corps separated by Corinthian pilasters with fluted shafts. Between the pilasters, there is a window opening topped with a full arch, contoured by a profiled frame with a prominent key stone. In the window, the bifora is supported by Corinthian corner quarter columns and a central engaged column. Above the bifora, there is an oculus. There is a garland above the window. The avant-corps is crowned with a pediment framed by a lavish profiled cornice with a dentil frieze. The tympanum is decorated with a laurel wreath intertwined with a ribbon. There is a five-pointed star above the wreath. In the top part, there is a stone acroterion with a cross.

The northern elevation is designed in a similar way.

The western elevation is one-storey, without openings. It is framed by corner Corinthian pilasters supporting a triangular pediment. In the top part, there is a stone acroterion with a cross.

Inside, there are preserved wall polychromes. In the chancel, there is a modern marble altar. A marble slab covering the entrance to the crypt is positioned centrally in the floor.

The chapel can be viewed from outside all year round, from morning to dusk.

Compiled by Agnieszka Lorenc-Karczewska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź 19 May 2020

Bibliography

• Głowacki K., Urbanistyka Piotrkowa Trybunalskiego, Piotrków Trybunalski – Kielce 1984,
• Ziętek J., Record sheet of the Jüttner family cemetery chapel, 2008, Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Łódź